I love Carl Hiaasen books. Those written for kids are especially wonderful. Now the back of this book says that it is the first time Hiaasen has written for Teens, and while our protagonists are teens, I do not see a reason why this wouldn't make a wonderful read a loud story. Yes there is a kidnapping, and Skink is one of a kind, but besides a little crocodile dining, and the word ass a few times, the book is relatively clean. It can be a little violent, but much cleaner than Harry Potter or Hunger Games.

So onto the story. Malley is an annoying girl who pushes all her parents buttons. Instead of heading to boarding school up north, she runs away with a guy she found in an online chat room. This character is mostly absent from the story til the end, which is a good thing as she is highly annoying. If I was her cousin I'm not sure I would be gung ho to save her, but fortunately I am not her cousin, Richard is. And he thinks he is about the only one who can save her, mainly because she will not talk to anyone else.

Richard is the type of kid everyone wants their kid to grow into. He's not a goody two shoes, just an overall good kid, who did something kind of bad that his cousin hold over his head like a weapon. He likes to walk along the beach and watch turtles hatch. In the midst of his cousin running away he meets a not so crazy, kind of dead man. Skink.

Skink is a reoccurring character in many Hiaasen adult books. I can not say he has been cleaned up in this book, but but his language has. He is a character that is hard to describe and is what helps move our action forward. If hes not teaching underage Richard to drive, he is doing crazy dances to chase off a lunatic.

Everything that Hiaasen puts into this book is what makes it worth the read. It has adventure, heart, and even a few morality lessons.